Elevator-gate operating and locking mechanism.



A. MACLEOD. ELEVATOR GATE OPERATING AND LOCKING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED :mzo. 1915.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Alexander MucLeod Afi'ys CDLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH 60.,WASHINUTON. D. c.

A. MACLEOD. ELEVATOR GATE OPERATING AND LOCKING MECHANISM. APPLICATION -FILED JAN.20, 1915.

1,160,520. Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

I 2 SHETS-$HEET 2- W n \NiTne I) A o I M 34 I Alexander M and Y b M Mum AT T'y s are.

ALEXANDER lVEAeLEOD, or WAVERLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR or own-HALF T0 J. LINFIELID DAMON, .13., or BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.-

ELEVATOR-GATE O ERATING AND LOCKING MEC'EANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. P t t d N 16, 1915.

Application filed January '20, 1915. Serial No. 3,351.

To all whom it may concern: I Be it known that I, ALEXANDER MAO- LEoI'), a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Waverley, county of Middlesex', State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Elevator-Gate Operating and Looking Mechanism, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to elevator gates of that type which are opened and closed by a vertical movement and which are operated by the elevator as it approaches and leaves a landing, and the object of the in vention is to provide a novel gate-operating mechanism by which when the gate is closed it will be lockedfrom being opened by pressure applied thereto, but can be freely opened by movement of the elevator in'usual manner. 7

' In order to give an understanding of my invention I have illustrated herein a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described, after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective fragmentary View showing a portion of an elevator well with a portion of the elevator therein and illustrating my improved elevator gate-opcrating mechanism; Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line ww, Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a connection between the gate controlling ropesand the gate-operating chain; Fig. 4: is a fragmentary perspective view showing one of the links of the chain and a portion of the cam carried by the elevator by which the gate is operated; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing the operationof the device. 1

I have shown at 1 a portion ,of'an elevator well, in which an ordinary freight elevator 2 is operating, and at 3 and 4: I have illus trated different landings or floors leading to the elevator well. Each landing or floor is provided with a gate 5 of the rising and falling type, and means are provided where-Y by as the elevator approaches the landing from either direction the gate 5 will be automatically raised. The means herein shown is of the familiar endless chain gateoperating type and. comprisesan endless chain gate-operating member 6 passing around two pulleys or wheels 9 and 10 secured to the wall of the elevator well and provided with projections 7 and 8 which are adapted to be engaged by lugs or projections 30 and 31 carried by the elevator 2 rises and falls.

The gate-operating member 6 will preferably be in the form of a sprocket chain, and the members 9 and 10 in the form of sprocket wheels. This sprocket chain is connected to the elevator gate by means of a flexible gate-operating connection 11 in the form of a rope. chain or cord, which passes over suitable direction pulleys 12, and is connected to the gate 5 in any suitable way. The above construction is more or less commonly used as a means for operating elevator gates, and in the operation thereof when the elevator is moving up to a landing, a projection thereon will engage the proj ection 8 on the sprocket chain and move the chain in the direction of the arrows Fig. 1, and since the flexible connection 11 is se-' cured to the chain such connection will be drawn on thereby raising the gate. When the elevator is descending a projection thereas the latter onwill engage the projection 7 and thus i give thechain the same movement which will open the gate. asheretofore made it is possible for a person to raise the gate 5 by hand, for the fieXible connection 11 will permit of this movement.

My invention is an improvement over such constructions in that it provides means. for preventing the gate 5 from being raised by any upward pressure applied thereto, while permitting the gate to be raised freely by the movement ofthe elevator. I accomplish this result herein by means of a gate locking flexible connection 13 which issecured to the gate in any suitable way, as at 14, and which passes downwardly from the gate and around direction pulleys l5 and thence to the gate-operating member 6, said connection 13 being secured to the gate-operating member 6 ata point 16 so located that when the gate is closed said point of attachment 16 will be at the rear, of a vertical line through the sprocket wheels 9 and 10 and in a position to tend to move the chain 6 in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. When, therefore, the gate is closed, as shown in Fig.1, any upward lifting force applied to the gate 5 willtend In devices of this nature pedient locks the gate from being opened while lifting on it, while permitting the gate to be freely opened by the elevator. While:

any suitable means of securing the connections 11 and 13 to the chain 6 and of preventing backward movement of the chain may be employed, the construction illustrated herein has been found to be eminently practical. link 17 of the chain 6, is provided with two ears 18 which sustain a pinl9 to which the end of the cord or connection 11 is'secured. An adjacentlink 20 is provided at one side with an ear or flange 21 to'which the connection 13 is secured, as clearly seen in Fig. 3. The construction of the chain and of the connections 11 and 13 is such that when the gate is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, the point of connection between the gate-operating rope 11 and the chain is vertically over the axes of the sprocket wheels 9 and 10, while the point of connection 16 between the gate-locking member 13 and the chain 7 will be at one side of the Vertical line.

The sprocket wheels 9 and 10 are herein shown as secured to a supporting member 22 having a channel shape, said member in trun being fastened in any suitable way to the wall of the elevator well. The side flanges 23of the channel-shaped supporting member are cut away opposite the sprocket wheels 9 and" 10,- as at 24, to allow the runs of the chain 6 to pass therethrough, said runs of the chain operating on the outside 'of the flanges 23. This supporting member 22 is provided with a stop pin 25, the length of whichis less than thewidth of the chain,

so that said pin partially-overlies the chain 6, as shown in Fig. 2. This stop pin 25 is 7 located in aposition to engage one of the ears or flanges 18 when the, gate is closed, as shown in Fig. 1', and thus it prevents the chain from being moved backwardly or in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1 The length of the locking pin 25. is such, however, that the ear or flange 21 can move past the same since the latter is on the outside edge of the chain. Hence when the gate closes the car 21 will move .by the pin 25, but the latter will be broughtinto engagement with the inside ear or flange 18 and thus limit the backward movement of the chain.

- The projections, 30 and 31 carried by the.

adapted to engage the projection 7 orr8exr tending from the chain and the cam surfaqe t s t a e at on s e-of he rom One of the links, to wit: the

tion. .The projections 7 and 8 on the chain are formed on certain links 35 of the chain,

and each of these links is provided with a laterally-extending flange 36 which stands in line with and engages the cam surface 34 as the elevator" moves up or down.

In the operation of the device the chain 6 extends along one side of the cam surface 34, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 4:, while the projection 33 is in a position to engage the projection 8 of the link 35. \Vhen, therefore, the elevator moves upwardly the projection 33 will strike the projection8 on the chain link, While the flange 36 will lieflatly on the portion 39 at the upper end of the member 30. Because of this the chain link will be held in its vertical position and prevented from being thrown into such (an inclined position as would tend to allowthe projection '8 to slip off from the projection 33. When the projection 8 reaches the upper end of the chain and begins to pass around the pulley 7 then theflange 36will move down over the inclined surface 34:, and

when the projection 8 has reached theposi tion shown in Fig. 5 the flange36 will be in engagement with the vertical portion 38 of the cam surface. v

Thetwo projections 7 and 8 are'so placed on the sprocket chain that whenthe projection ;8 is directly over the center of the sprocket wheel 9 the projection 7 will be directly under the center of the sprocket wheel 10, as seen clearly in Fig. 5. The. two operating lugs 30 and 31 are also so-positioned that when-the upper lug 30 isrj'ust leaving the flange 36 of the projectionlS on the chain the lower lug 31 will be moving into engagement with the flange 36 of the other projection 7 on the chain all as shown n F 1g. 5. Hence as the elevator continues its upward movement and the lug 30passes out of engagement with the projection. 8 the Weight of the gate 5 will hold the projection 7in engagement with the lug 31, which lug will control the closing movement of the ate. r g I claim: 7 i v 1. In an elevator-gate-operating device, the combination with a vertically-moving elevator gate, of an endless gate-operating chain connected to the gate, means to move the chain forwardly by the. movement of an elevator and thereby raise the gate, a stop to prevent backward movement of the chain from its initial position, and a gate-locking connection between said gate and chain by whichiwhen the gate is closed lifting pressure applied to the gate will tendto move the chain backwardly. 1

2. In an elevator-ga-te-operating device, the combination with a vertically-moving elevator gate, of an endless gate-operating chain adapted to be actuated by the move- 1 m rit o nele a g te-open ng onnec:

tion between said chain and gate, and a gatelocking connection between said chain and gate and by which the gate is locked when it is closed.

3. In an elevator gate-operating device, the combination with a vertically-moving gate, of an andless gate-operating chain secured to the wall of an elevator well, sprocket wheels over which said chain runs, said chain having projections extending therefrom which are engaged by an elevator, a gate-opening connection from said chain to the gate, a gate-locking connection extending from said gate to said chain and secured thereto at a point in the rear of. the point of attachment with the gate-opening connection, and means to prevent backward movement of said chain.

at. In an elevator gate-operating device, the combination with an elevator well provided with a landing, of a vertically-moving elevator gate, an endless-gate-operating chain, sprocket wheels secured to the wall of the elevator well and over which the chain passes, a gate opening and a gate-locking connection extending from said gate to said chain, meansto move the chain in a forward direction by the movement of an elevator thereby to open the gate, the point of attachment between the gate-locking connection and said chain being such that when the gate is closed vertical movement of the gate will tend to move the chain backwardly, and means to limit such backward movement.

5. In an elevator gate operating device,

the combination with an elevator well having a landing, of a vertically-moving gate for said landing, an endless-gate-operating chain, sprocket wheels secured to the wall of the elevator well and around which said chain passes, means to move the chain for wardly by the movement of the elevator in the well, a gate-opening connection leading from the gate to the chain, a gate-locking connection also leading from the gate to the chain, the point of attachment of said gatelocking connection with the chain being on the rear side of a line extending through the axes of the sprocket wheel when the gate is closed, and a stop to limit backward movement of the gate.

6. In an elevator gate-operating device, the combination with a vertically-moving elevator gate, of an endless gate-operating chain connected to the gate, one link of said chain being provided with a finger and with a laterally-extending flange, and an elevator having a projection to engage said finger thereby to operate the chain, and a rest on I which the flange of the link is sustained whereby the latter is maintained in its vertical position.

7. In an elevator gate-operating device,

the combination with a vertically-moving gate, of an endless-gate-operating chain connected to the gate, sprocket wheels around which said chain passes, one of the links of the chain having a finger extending therefrom in line with the chain and also a laterally-extending flange at one side of the. chain, an elevator, a projection extendingj name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, ALEXANDER MAOLEOD.

Witnesses: Y I

LOUIS 0. SMITH, THOMAS J. DRUMMOND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

7 Washington, D. C.

' It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No.. 1,160,520, granted November 16, 1915, upon the application of Alexander MacLeod, of Waverley, Massachusetts, for

an improvement in Elevator-Gate Operating and Locking Mechanism, an error" appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 7, claim 3, for the Word andless read endless; and that the said Letters Patent should be read withthis correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 14th day of December, A. D., 1915.

[SEAL] R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner. of Patents. Cl. 187-60. 

